Po's Side of the Story
by Black Raider
Summary: The title says it all. This is the movie from Po's point of view. Rated T because it's the closest to PG, or at least i think so. Read and Review
1. Dreams

Chapter One- Dreams

"Legend tells of a legendary warrior." The storyteller said. "Whose kung fu skills were the stuff of legend!"

As he told the story, it appeared in real life. A panda wearing robes the color of golden wheat, a red cape, and a woven hat the covered his eyes walked along a dock, brandishing a bamboo staff.

"He traveled the land, in search of worthy foes." The storyteller continued.

The panda stopped at a small restaurant and entered, only to find it was overrun by bandits terrorizing the poor, helpless bunnies running the place. The panda calmly walked in and sat down to a plate of dumplings. As he popped one into his mouth with his chopsticks, the bandits approached him.

"I see you like to chew." The leader, a water buffalo, said gruffly. "Maybe you should chew on my fist!" The leader pounded his fist on the table, but the panda was unfazed.

"The warrior said nothing," the storyteller said. "For his mouth was full. Then he swallowed."

The panda swallowed.

"And then he spoke."

"Enough talk." The panda said. "Let's fight."

Suddenly, the panda let out a furious punch that launched the bandits back. He used his moves to hit away the water buffalo, then a gorilla and two weasels. He leaped up and did a split kick to hit away a crocodile and a cat.

"He was so deadly in fact," the storyteller described. "That his enemies would go blind from pure awesomeness!"

"My eyes!" cried a blinded cat.

"He's too awesome!" a blinded croc said.

"And attractive." A girl bunny said, fluttering her eyes.

"How can we repay you?" the bunny owner of the restaurant asked.

The panda turned to him. "There is no charge for awesomeness." He said. "Or attractiveness." The girl bunny giggled, and the panda warrior launched himself thru the roof, hitting away bandits.

"It mattered not how many foes he faced." The storyteller said. "They were no match for his awesomeness!" The panda found himself confronted by hundreds of cat and dog demons coming after him. With a blinding flash of light and a quick move, he defeated them all and sent them falling into the river. The panda took his staff in his hand once more and continued his journey.

"Never before has a panda been so feared!" the storyteller exclaimed. "And so loved."

Ahead of the panda was the legendary Jade Palace. Five warriors, a tiger, a snake, a crane, a praying mantis, and a monkey jumped down to face the panda warrior.

"Even the most heroic heroes in all of China, the Furious Five, bowed in respect to this great master." The storyteller said. The Furious Five kneeled and bowed to the panda and stood by him, ready to fight.

"We should hang out." Monkey said.

"Agreed." The panda said. The six of them prepared for battle. Ten thousand demons were in front of them. The panda took out the Sword of Heroes and cut their weapons to pieces with a single swing of the blade.

"But hanging out would have to wait." The storyteller said. "'Cause when you're facing the Ten Thousand Demons of Demon Mountain, there's only one thing that matters." The panda and the Furious Five leapt forward, ready to strike.

"And that's-" the storyteller started.

"PO!"

The panda froze and turned to Monkey, who was talking in a different voice.

"Get up!" he said. The panda turned to Tigress, who spoke in the same voice.

"You'll be late for work!" she said.

"What?" the panda asked. Suddenly, he fell into darkness…..

…..and the storyteller fell onto the floor after waking up from his dream.

He yawned and groaned.

The storyteller was a panda named Po.

And he had just finished the perfect dream.

A/N: Ok, I have a problem: nobody's reviewing my stories. So I'm not writing any more of those unfinished stories until I get reviews. Until then, I will be writing this, by request of klonoakazeno. READ AND REVIEW!!! I work hard on these stories.


	2. The Dragon Warrior

Chapter Two- The Dragon Warrior

"Po!" Po's dad, Mr. Ping, called from downstairs. "Get up!"

Po tossed his blanket off his body and sat up, staring at all the kung fu collectibles he had. Posters, action figures, throwing stars, and more, although there were a lot of bowls up here that Po's dad had used for storage before Po was around. Po sighed and flopped back down. He tried to flip up to his feet but failed twice, making the entire house shake.

"Hey Po!" Mr. Ping yelled. "What are you _doing _up there?"

"Uh, nothing!" Po called. He tried once more before finally giving up, rolling over, and standing. He jumped up and made a kung fu pose at his Furious Five action figures.

"Monkey! Mantis! Crane! Viper! Tigress!" he called. He roared like Tigress when he suddenly noticed the neighbor watering her plants staring at him. He stopped and chuckled nervously before ducking down.

"Po, let's go!" Mr. Ping called. "You're late for work!"

Po found a throwing star on the ground and threw it at a drawing of a water buffalo bandit. "Coming!" He started to run down, but his star fell. Po picked it up and tried again, but failed and finally just grabbed the star as he ran down the stairs.

A bad mistake, because in his haste, Po slipped and fell down all the stairs. He looked up sheepishly at his dad, who, surprisingly, was a goose.

"Sorry Dad." Po said, getting up.

"Sorry doesn't make the noodles." Mr. Ping said. Po got up, hiding the throwing star as he got to work in the kitchen, which was so small he couldn't stand up straight. "What were you doing up there?" Mr. Ping asked as he worked. "All that noise!"

"Oh, uh, nothing." Po said. "Just a crazy dream."

"About what?" Mr. Ping asked, chopping vegetables with a large knife.

"Huh?" Po asked.

"What were you dreaming about?" Mr. Ping repeated.

"What was I-" Po stuttered. "Uh, I was dreaming about…uh…." Po didn't know what to say. His dad was a great noodle chef who wanted his son to take over the restaurant when he passed. But Po loved kung fu more than anything in the universe, except his father, of course. But Po thought if he told his dad, Mr. Ping would be ashamed of him. Po thought quickly, making up an excuse.

"Noodles." He said.

Mr. Ping stopped chopping. "Noodles? You were really dreaming about noodles?"

"Uh, yeah." Po said, handing out bowls of noodles. "What else would I be dreaming about?" Suddenly, he saw his throwing star in a bowl of noodles a customer had. "Oh, careful that soup is-" Po paused and lowered his voice so his dad didn't hear. "-sharp."

Mr. Ping suddenly jumped up, excited. "Oh, happy day!" He ran off, grabbing an apron and a hat. "My son, finally having the noodle dream!" He handed his son the hat and tied the apron around the panda's waist. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for this moment!" Po gulped a little. "This is a sign, Po!"

"Uh, a sign of what?" Po asked his father.

"You are almost ready to be entrusted with the secret ingredient of my Secret Ingredient Soup! And then, you will fulfill your destiny and take over the restaurant!" Mr. Ping jumped onto the counter and used a wooden spoon to point to three pictures on the wall. "Just as I took it over from my father, who took it over from his father who won it from a friend in a game of mahjong."

_Uh oh. _Po thought. _This again. _"Dad, dad, it was just a dream." Po chuckled nervously.

"No, it was _the _dream." Mr. Ping replied, handing noodles to the customers. "We are noodle folk; broth runs thru our veins."

"But Dad didn't you ever….." Po started. _Word it right, Po. _He told himself. "I don't know, want to do something else? Something _besides _noodles?"

"Actually," Mr. Ping said, jumping down from the counter and cutting vegetables again. "When I was young and crazy I thought about running away and learning how to make tofu."

"So why didn't you?!" Po demanded.

"Oh!" Mr. Ping laughed. "Because it was a stupid dream!" Po frowned. "Can you imagine?" Mr. Ping continued. "_Me _making _tofu_?" The goose laughed. "Tofu…no!" Mr. Ping stabbed the knife down and picked up a bowl of fresh noodles. "We all have our place in this world. Mine is here. And yours is…."

"I know." Po said. But he didn't mean it. "Is here."

"No!" Mr. Ping said. He started to throw noodles bowls into the air, which Po caught and balanced on his arms. "It's at tables 2, 5, 7, and 12!" Mr. Ping placed his son's hat on Po's head and opened Po's mouth to a toothy smile. "Service with a smile!" Mr. Ping walked off, leaving Po alone. The giant panda glanced up at the Jade Palace, high on a mountain, where the Furious Five and their master trained to protect the Valley of Peace, where the villagers including Po, his father, and the residents of the palace lived. A thousand years ago, Master Oogway, creator of kung fu, had traveled the land before settling in China. He chose the Valley of Peace as a place where anyone can live in peace and not be harmed. Oogway's pupil, the now Master Shifu, lived as guardians of the valley. Shifu trained the Five to take over that responsibility when he and Oogway passed. Po sighed.

_I'll never get up there. _He thought sadly as he walked out to the courtyard. _Oh well, I guess dreams aren't meant to come true. _

Po did his job as a waiter in his dad's restaurant. Sometimes he made the soup too, but usually he was the waiter. Po dropped off the soup on his arms and walked back quickly for more deliveries from his dad.

"These three go to table one, over there." Mr. Ping ordered. Po sighed and obeyed with a bowl in one hand and two in the other. He squeezed thru the tight space between the tables.

"Excuse me." He muttered. "Pardon me. Oops, sorry." He bumped into a table.

"Hey!" the pig at the table said. "Watch it, Po!"

"Sorry." Po said. He sucked in his gut and tried to stand up tall. "Suck it up!" Suddenly, he felt something wet and hot on his tail and he realized his tail went into a bowl of noodles. A mother rabbit and her kids were at the table, and the kids started crying. Po whipped around, embarrassed. "Oops. Sorry. A thousand pardons." Suddenly, a gong sounded, and Po turned to see a poster on the wall of the shop. "What?" He rushed forward and read the poster that had a shadow picture of each Furious Five member. He got excited.

"Master Oogway's choosing the Dragon Warrior!" he exclaimed. "Today!" He turned around to the patrons of the shop. "Everyone, go, get to the Jade Palace! One of the Five is going to get the Dragon Scroll!"

"We've been waiting a thousand years for this!" he told a bunny child trying to finish his noodles faster. "Just take the bowl!"

"This the greatest day in kung fu history!" he told an old bunny paying. "Don't worry about it, just go!" Everyone ran off, and Po followed.

"Po!" Mr. Ping called. "Where are you going?"

Po almost groaned. _Great, I'm caught by Dad._ Po looked back.

"To the Jade Palace." Po took one more step towards the door, ready to run when his dad gave him permission to go.

"But you're forgetting your noodle cart!" Mr. Ping said, plopping a large pot of noodles on a cart of bowls and chopsticks. He rolled it over to Po. "The whole valley will be there! And you'll sell noodles to all of them!"

"Selling noodles?" Po asked. _Oh of course. _Mr. Ping nodded with a big smile on his face. "But Dad, you know I was kinda thinking maybe I…."

"Yeah?" Mr. Ping asked, keeping his smile.

"I was kinda thinking maybe I….." Po started.

"Uh huh?"

_Is he really ready to know my secret? _Po thought. _Of course not. Look at him; he's so proud of me. _"Could also sell the bean buns." Po said. "They're…they're about to go bad." Po smiled weakly.

But Mr. Ping's smile got bigger. "That's my boy!" Mr. Ping turned to get the buns. "I told you that dream was a sign!"

"Yeah." Po said. "Glad I had it."

After loading up, Po pushed his cart down the road to the Jade Palace, stopping only to sell some noodles to a few kids on the way. When he got to the steps that led to the Jade Palace, Po stopped and stared, mouth agape.

Now, you have to remember that the Jade Palace is on a mountain, maybe to spot oncoming danger from afar. Even if that wasn't the reason, Master Oogway had decided a mountain for the resting place of the palace. So carved into the mountainside was stairs.

Many, many, many, many, _many_, stairs.

There had to be a thousand, if not more.

Po gulped, swung his cart around and started to pull it up with difficulty. He pulled and pulled, falling back a few steps now and then as the rest of the valley's villagers passed him. He pulled the cart for hours as the sun beat down on him. Soon, Po was crawling up the steps, pulling the cart with him. He flopped down.

"Come on!" he panted. "Come on ya-. Almost there." He looked down at the steps he had climbed. "What?"

Po had only made it up seven steps.

"Oh!" Po complained. "Oh no!" Two pigs ran by.

"Sorry Po." One said.

"We'll bring you back a souvenir." The other said. They ran up the steps. Po stared hopelessly at the steps. He heard fireworks go off. He smiled.

It was time to leave behind his noodle life.

Po was going to that tournament.

Nothing was going to stop him.

"No, _I'll _bring me back a souvenir." He said confidently. Po tossed off his hat and apron and started to run up the stairs. He managed to get up ten steps before getting tired. Man, did he need to lose some weight! But Po kept going. The two pigs were long gone, probably already at the top. Po kept moving until he was quite literally pulling himself up the steps.

Finally, _finally, _he reached the top.

He could hear the crowd cheering as he hoisted himself up to the gates.

"Yeah!" he said. "Ha ha!" He looked over and saw the gates to the Jade Palace slowly creaking closed. "Oh no!" He got up quickly and ran to the doors. "No, no, no! I'm coming!"

But Po didn't make it, and he slammed into the closed doors.

"Ow." He moaned as he fell. He got up and started banging on the doors. "Hey! Open the door!" But the cheers and the drums drowned out his voice. "Let me in!" Po looked around quickly and found a window, running over as he heard Master Shifu talk.

"Citizens of the Valley of Peace!" he called to the crowd. "It is my great honor to present to you…Tigress! Viper! Crane! Monkey! Mantis!" Po looked thru the widow and saw an extremely old Galapagos tortoise and an old red panda on a platform. Grand Master Oogway and Master Shifu.

"The Furious Five!" Master Shifu announced. Po laughed as he watched his heroes drop down from the sky and land in kung fu stances, the crowd cheering their name.

Then, Crane flapped his wings once and a gust of wind blew, knocking over the stick that held the window open. The window slammed into Po's face, making him fall back.

"Warriors, prepare!" Shifu ordered. Po jumped up, noticing a hole in the door.

"Peaky hole!" he said, looking thru.

"Ready for battle?" Shifu called.

"Yeah." Po said, despite the fact Shifu was talking to Crane. Po looked at Crane's opponent. "The Thousand Tongues of Fire." A pig lit the contraption, but a pig fan moved in front of Po before the panda could watch.

"Whoa, look at that!" The pig said.

"Hey!" Po cried. "Get out of the way!" Suddenly, something exploded, and Po looked up to see Crane dodging the flames. He laughed, backing up to see more. But Po fell off the stairs again to see what happened. He climbed back up quickly from where he fell, but Crane had disappeared. Po groaned, then stared determined at the walls.

He wasn't going to stop.

He _will _see the Dragon warrior.

First, he tried to punch the doors open, only to crack his knuckles.

"Ow." He moaned. The crowd cheered inside.

Then, he tried to pole vault over the wall, but his weight got in the way. But then the pole flipped and he crashed into the wall. The crowd cheered once more. Three members down, only two to go.

Po made a catapult, but he was still too heavy. When he got off the bamboo stalk he was using, the stalk it him in the chin and then swung back to slam into his head. The crowd cheered and Po slumped down on the steps.

"And finally, Master Tigress!" Shifu yelled. Po straightened up and saw one last thing he could do. He looped a rope around a tree branch and pulled to make the ultimate catapult.

"Believe me citizens; you have not seen anything yet!" Shifu said.

"I know!" Po cried. He hadn't seen anything at all.

"Master Tigress, face Iron Ox, and his Blades of Death!" Shifu ordered. Po launched himself. He flew up and over the gate and saw Master Tigress, leader of the Furious Five, about to face the wooden Iron Ox. Suddenly, Po hit the gate once, twice before crash-landing in a cart of fireworks. Po lied there, groaning. Then, he heard the crowds go silent. He listened. After a moment, Shifu shouted, "Citizens of the Valley of Peace! Master Oogway will now choose the Dragon Warrior!"

Po shot straight up.

"Huh? Oh no." He groaned. "No, no, no, wait!" Po noticed the rocket fireworks he was sitting on. He picked one up and spied a chair and some string.

He got the craziest idea ever.

"Yeah."

Po gathered a bunch of rockets, the chair, and the string. Po set the chair in a spot that would launch him up into the air and into the arena. He used the string to tie the rockets to the chair, laughing like a maniac. He lit a match and lighted the fuse.

"Po!"

Po turned and saw his father with Po's hat and apron. _He must've decided to come and saw my stuff. _Po thought. _What's he doing here?! _

"What are you doing?" Mr. Ping cried when he saw his son on the fireworks chair. He rushed over.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Po asked. Mr. Ping tried to blow out the fuse. "No, stop. Stop!" His father stared. "I'm going to see the Dragon Warrior!" Mr. Ping seemed confused.

"But I don't understand." He said. "You finally had the noodle dream."

Po sighed. Time to let it out. "I lied." He told his dad. "I don't dream about noodles, Dade." Mr. Ping seemed shocked. Po noticed the fuse about to reach the rocket.

Time to tell.

If he waited until after the tournament, his dad would be upset.

"I love kung fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" Po yelled. He waited for the fuse to go off.

But it was a dud.

Po fell forward, still stuck on the chair. He looked to his dad, sniffling a little.

"Aw, come on, son." Mr. Ping said. "Let's get back to work." Mr. Ping held up Po's apron. Po sighed, giving up.

"Okay." Po said. He started to get up.

It was over. His dream was crushed. But his dad was right; he wasn't a kung fu warrior. He was just the son of a crazy noodle chef.

Then, without warning, the rockets went off.

Po was launched forward, straight into the wall.

"Po?" Mr. Ping asked. Po felt his face rub against hard rock. "Po, come back!" Suddenly, Po went up. The fireworks launched him and the chair up, up, up, high above the Jade Palace. The fireworks exploded, sending Po into a shower of sparks. Then, the chair, now reduced to ashes, blows away in the wind. Po looks down, seeing himself high above the ground.

"Uh oh." He said.

Po fell, faster and faster until he crash-landed hard on the arena.

Dazed, Po opens his eyes to see the Five staring at him.

"Oh." He moaned. "What's going on? Where-" Po turned to see a long claw right in front of his eyes. "What are you pointing-" Po's vision cleared, and he saw none other than the Grand Master Oogway pointing at him.

Po was in trouble now.

"Oh." He said. "Okay. Sorry. I just wanted to see who the Dragon Warrior was."

"How interesting." Oogway said, intrigued by the giant panda before him.

"Master." Tigress stepped forward. "Are-are you pointing at me?" Po looked at Oogway hopefully. Tigress was obviously right.

"Him." Oogway pointed to Po.

"Who?" Po asked. He tried to move, but Oogway kept pointing at him.

"You." Oogway repeated.

"Me?" Po asked. Tigress stepped back, disappointed. The sun broke thru the clouds, its rays hitting Po. Oogway used his staff to lift Po's hand.

"The universe has brought us the Dragon Warrior!" He announced.

A/N: Keep reviewing! Thank you Kivu, for the compliment.


	3. Training and Wisdom

Chapter Three- Training and Wisdom

"What?" Po asked.

"What?" The Five exclaimed.

"What?" Shifu demanded.

"What?" Mr. Ping said, surprised. Po heard a pig bang a gong, and the crowd went wild.

_Whoa, wait a minute. _He thought. _What the heck just happened? _A palanquin, carried by some palace geese, came down the steps and stopped in front of Po. The giant panda stared at Master Oogway, who kindly gestured towards the palanquin. The Five bowed respectively behind him. _Hey, my dreams are coming true. _Po realized. _Cool. _Po awkwardly climbed on and the geese lifted (quite difficultly) Po off the ground and started to carry him away. Po looked back and saw his father in the crowd, staring at him with shock.

_He's gonna kill me when I get home. _Po thought. He heard Master Shifu talking to Master Oogway, catching words from their conversation.

"Wait….flabby panda….can't be answer…..problem….." Master Shifu was saying. "Thing fell…..accident!"

Po sighed. _What am I doing up here? _He thought. _I'm not a Dragon Warrior! I gotta get out of here! _Po struggled to jump out, but he only succeeded in making the seat of the palanquin break, making Po's butt fall thru and the geese couldn't move any farther. Po looked back and saw Master Shifu, Master Oogway, and the Furious Five staring.

_Am I an idiot or what? _Po thought, desperately trying to get out. Four palace pigs came and hoisted Po and the palanquin up and continued, the geese still holding on.

_I guess once you're the Dragon Warrior, you can't turn back. _Po thought as he was carried up the stairs to the Jade Palace. _On the bright side, all my dreams are coming true! In just a few hours, I've gone from the son of a noodle-crazy chef to the Dragon Warrior, the greatest warrior in all of China! _Po got a little excited. _To think, I'll be training alongside my heroes, the Furious Five! And Master Shifu and Master Oogway will be teaching me! Just wait until Dad….. _Po stopped and frowned. _Dad. He'll be upset because I kept that secret from him. What am I going to do? Maybe I should tell Master Oogway he was wrong. But Master Oogway's never wrong. _

Before Po could come up with some sort of plan, he noticed that they had arrived at the top. The pigs and the geese walked inside the building at the top of the stairs and literally dumped Po on the ground.

"Hey wait a second!" Po groaned. The pigs and geese bowed to him before walking out quickly, shutting the doors behind them. _Oh come on. _Po thought. _That's it, I'm outta here. _"I think there's been a slight mistake. Uh, everyone seems to think that I'm a…." Po turned around and his jaw dropped. All plans of escaping were wiped clean from his mind. "The Sacred Hall of Warriors! No way!"

Po stared at the majestic room, full of weapons and armor from deceased warriors in history. Po walked around, staring. "Look at this place." Then, Po remembered everything he had learned about all the artifacts from books he read and stories he heard. He looked to the right and gasped. "Master Flying Rhino's armor!" he cried, staring at the armor pieces that had the form of a rhino, even the horns. "With authentic battle damage!" Po saw a sword with an emerald green dragon on it.

"Whoa." He rushed over. "The Sword of Heroes! Said to be sharp you could cut yourself just by looking- OW!" Po sucked on his finger. He noticed a stand that seemed to have nothing on it. He gasped. "The Invisible Trident of Destiny!" _I wonder how its owner used it. I mean, not a soul can see it. _He spied a painting of a water buffalo with a hammer in each hand. "I've only seen paintings of that painting."

Po gaped at all the artifacts he had read about, right in front of him. _I love this place. _He thought. _I never want to leave. _He was as happy as a little kid among the Christmas presents.

Then Po saw the one thing that seemed to top all others.

"No. Ooohhhhh!"

The panda ran to a very ancient vase with dragons for handles and warriors fighting on mountaintops painted on it. "The legendary Urn of Whispering Warriors." Po said. "Said to contain the souls of the entire Tenshu army!" Po leaned in a little, excited. _I wonder if they're still there. _"Hello?" Po leaned in, putting his ear to the opening.

"Have you finished sight-seeing?"

Po gasped.

_The urn just talked to me! _He thought. _Maybe it's a great warrior!_

"Sorry." Po said. "I should've come to see you first."

"My patience is wearing thin."

Po frowned. _Excuse me? _"Oh, well, I mean, it's not like you were going anywhere."

"Would you turn around?"

"Sure." Po shrugged. He turned to the side and saw an old red panda holding a bamboo flute. "Hey, how's it going?" Po turned to the urn again, peering inside. "Now how do you get five thousand-" _Wait a minute. _Po thought. _Oh gods in Heaven! That was- _"Master Shifu!" Po jumped and he heard a crash. "Oh." He stared helplessly at the broken urn at his feet. Green smoke appeared and disappeared. _Great. Now I'm in HUGE trouble. _Po looked towards Master Shifu. "Someone…broke that."

Master Shifu said nothing; he just gave Po a cold stare.

"But I'm gonna fix it." Po promised, moving the pieces together. "Do you have any….glue…?" Po knocked his hand into the podium and it hit his head. "Ow! Ooh, splinter."

"So you're the legendary Dragon Warrior, hmm?" Master Shifu asked. Po saw a rather tight smile on the small master's face.

"Uh…..I guess so." Po replied. _Oogway did choose me. _

"Wrong!" Master Shifu shouted. Po jumped. _Geez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed mat. _"You are not the Dragon Warrior." Shifu continued. "You will _never _be the Dragon Warrior until you have learned the secret of the Dragon Scroll." Shifu pointed up with his flute. Po followed its point and saw a golden Chinese Dragon with a scroll container in his mouth.

The Dragon Scroll.

"Whoa." Po sighed. "So, how does this work? Do you have a ladder or a…..trampoline…or…"

Master Shifu only chuckled. "You think it's that easy? That I'm just going to hand you the secret to limitless power?!"

"No!" Po jumped again. "I….uh…."

"One must first master the highest level of kung fu." Master Shifu said, walking to the panda. "And that is clearly impossible if that one is someone like you." Shifu circled Po.

"Someone like me?" Po asked. _What's that supposed to mean? I'm a panda._

"Yes." Shifu said. "Look at you! This fat butt." Po felt a sharp pain in his butt, and he yelped. "Flabby arms." Po felt pain in his arm, and he held it.

"Those are sensitive in the flabby parts." Po muttered trying to find the master as he circled him. He felt another hit and whipped around to Shifu.

"And this ridiculous belly!" Shifu exclaimed. He jabbed his flute into Po's stomach.

"Hey." Po complained.

"And utter disregard for personal hygiene." Shifu concluded.

_Who is he to say that? _"Now wait a minute." Po said. "That's a little uncalled for…."

"Don't stand that close I can smell your breath." Shifu retorted. Po pointed his finger at the master.

"Listen, Oogway said I was the-" Po started. Suddenly, Shifu lunged, grabbing Po's outstretched finger between his index finger and thumb, lifting his pinky. Po gasped. "The Wuxi Finger Hold?" _Oh, I'm gonna die!!! _"No, not the Wuxi Finger Hold!" Po begged.

"Oh, you know this hold?" Shifu asked slyly.

Po said the next thing in a rush. "Developed by Master Wuxi in the Third Dynasty. Yes."

"Oh, then you must know what happens when I flex my pinky?" Shifu said, raising his hand a little.

Po gasped. "No, no, no." _Oh he wouldn't. He wouldn't He can't._

"You know the hardest part of this?" Shifu asked. "The hardest part is cleaning up afterwards." Shifu chuckled.

_Oh, come on! I don't know what this does but I'll bet anything I'm gonna be splattered across the walls! _"Ok." Po begged, going down to his knees. "Ok, take it easy."

"Now listen closely, panda." Shifu said. "Oogway may have picked you. But when I'm thru with you I promise you, you're going to wish he hadn't! Are we clear?"

"Oh, we're clear, we're clear." Po stuttered. "We are so clear." _Just let me go! _

"Good." Shifu said. He chuckled darkly. "I can't wait to get started." Finally, Shifu let go. Po jumped to his feet, cowering. "Come on, we have to get to the Training Hall." Shifu walked off, leaving his staff behind a pillar. Po followed him thru the Jade Palace and into a large room. Po looked up and smiled broadly.

The Five were training.

Tigress was on rotating dragons and dodging spiked clubs. Crane was balancing on a jade bowl and deflecting arrows. Mantis zipped thru the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors. Viper dodged flames on the fire field. Monkey swung thru rings.

Tigress then stood her ground against a spiked club and hit it, breaking the club to pieces. A rather large piece flew thru the air and slammed into Po's face.

"Ow!" he rubbed his head. "Ooh, ow."

"Let's begin." Shifu said.

"Wait, wait, wait." Po said, staring with shock at the obstacle course. "What? Now?"

"Yes, now." Shifu said. "Unless you think the great Oogway was wrong and you are not the Dragon Warrior?" Shifu raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, okay." Po said. _You're crazy if you think I can do that. _"I don't know if I can do…all those moves." Shifu chuckled and walked off.

"Well, if we don't try, we'll never know, will we?" Shifu said. Po followed quickly.

"Uh yeah." Po said. "It's just that…maybe we could find something more suited to my….level."

"And what level is that?" Shifu asked.

"Well….ya know, I'm not a master, but…." _Think quickly. _"Let's just start and zero, level zero."

"Oh, no." Shifu said. "There is no such thing as Level Zero." Po saw something out of the corner of his eye and rushed over to it.

"Hey! Maybe I can start with that!"

"That?" Shifu asked. It was a punching bag, the Adversary. "We use that for training children. And for propping the door open when it's hot. But if you insist…."

_This'll be easy._ Po thought. Suddenly, he saw the Five coming towards him.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "The Furious Five." _What do I say? _Po said the first thing that came to his head. "You're so much bigger than your action figures. Except for you Mantis; you're about the same."

Mantis glared at him. _Oops._

"Go ahead, panda." Shifu said. _When is he going to stop calling me panda? _"Show us what you can do." Shifu gestured to the dummy.

"Uh, are they going to watch?" Po asked, gesturing to the Five. "Or should I just wait until I get back to work or something?"

"Hit it." Shifu ordered.

"Ok, I mean, I just ate." Po said. _Ok, I didn't. But I don't want to be embarrassed. _"So I'm still digesting. So my kung fu might not be as good as…..later on."

"Just hit it." Shifu said.

"Alright." Po said. He turned to the dummy. _Maybe if I look tough, I won't make a fool of myself. _"Watcha got? You got nothin' cause I got it right here? You pickin' on my friends? Get ready to feel the thunder." Po started jumping around, messing around. "I'm comin' at him with the crazy feet." Po spun around once. "Whatcha gonna do about crazy feet? I mean, come on. I'm a blur. I'm a blur. You never seen Bear Style. You only seen, Praying Mantis. Or, Monkey Style." Po made a monkey sound. "Or….I'm comin' at ya snikity-snake-"

"Would you hit it?!" Shifu ordered. Po froze.

"Alright." He said. "Alright." He walked up…..and lightly tapped the dummy. He looked at Shifu.

"Why don't you try again?" Shifu suggested. "A little harder?"

Po hit the dummy in the face as hard as he could. _Aha! _"How's that-"

The Adversary came swinging backwards and hit Po's fist. Po's fist hit Po's face, knocking out a tooth and sending Po flying into the obstacle course.

_Oh come on!_

Po desperately tried to stay up, but he fell and did a painful split.

"Oh, that hurts." Suddenly, a club came swinging towards him. _OH NO!!!_ The club slammed into him, sending Po flying into the jade bowl. Po turned over this way and that, hitting his head many times before the bowl tipped over, spilling him out. By then, he was sick to his stomach.

"Getting a little nauseous." Po moaned.

But he didn't stop there. He walked thru the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors, and the arms kept spinning and hitting him in the face or arms.

"Ow!" Po cried. "Those are hard. I think I…."

Then, one hit him in the groin.

"Ooooohoohoo." Po groaned, going on his knees. "My tenders." Po groaned and stood, leaning on a wooden warrior. The arms started up again, hitting Po around like a ball in a pinball machine. He staggered out, holding his head. He stumbled around before stopping.

_Glad that's over. _Po thought. _Wait. Is something burning? _Po looked down and saw the fire field below him.

"Uh oh."

The fires burned Po badly before he jumped off. He literally dragged himself to Shifu and the Five. He sighed.

"How'd I do?" he asked Shifu.

"There is now a Level Zero." Shifu said, putting out a flame on Po's head.

*****

That night, on his way to the bunkhouse, Po couldn't stop berating himself.

_I'm such an idiot. _He thought. _But I guess that's what happens. Besides, I'll bet the Five started out that way before they were masters. _Speaking of the Five, Po could hear them talking in front of him. He hid behind a rock and listened.

"No words." Mantis said.

"No denying that." Crane agreed.

"I don't understand what Master Oogway was thinking." Viper said. "The poor guy's just going to get himself killed!"

_Good point. _Po thought.

"He is so mighty!" Crane mocked. "The Dragon Warrior! Fell out of the sky on a ball of fire!"

"When he walks, the very ground shakes!" Mantis teased. They all laughed.

"One would think that Master Oogway would choose someone who actually knew kung fu." Tigress growled.

"Yeah." Crane agreed. "Or could at least touch his toes."

"Or even see his toes." Monkey added. Everyone laughed again. Po walked out from behind the rock and watched them leave.

_I can see my toes. _Po thought. He picked up his stomach and leaned forward, but only ended up falling over. _Okay, I can't. _He sighed sadly as the Five disappeared. He walked up to the bunkhouse and peered around the corner that led to the rooms. Everyone had blown out their candles.

"Okay." He whispered. _Just tip-toe over to your room and go to bed. _Po took one step.

Creak.

Another step.

Creak.

One more.

Creak.

"Great." Po whispered. _Stupid floors. _

He took one more careful step.

Creak.

Clunk!

Po's foot went thru the floor.

"Oh!" he desperately tried to put the floor back together and moved quickly. Creak, creak, creak, creak, until he tripped a little and ended up in Crane's room. The avian looked up at him.

"Oh hey, hi." Po said nervously. "You're up."

"Am now." Crane said.

"I was just uh…." Po thought for a moment. _Make it sound casual. _"Some day, huh? That kung fu stuff is hard work, right? Your biceps sore?" Crane looked at his wing.

"Um…..I've had a long and rather disappointing day….so…." Crane sighed. "Yeah…I should probably get to sleep now."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Po agreed. "Of course."

"Okay, thanks." Crane said.

"It's just….aw man I'm such a big fan!" Po blurted out.

"Oop?" Crane asked.

"You guys were totally amazing at the Battle of Weeping River." Po continued. "Outnumbered a thousand to one but you didn't stop and you just…" Po tired to do some kung fu moves, but only kicked a hole in the paper door. "Ooo, sorry about that." Po said, looking thru the hole at Monkey, who had been meditating.

"Uh, look, you don't belong here." Crane said.

Po sighed. _I knew it. _"I know, I know." He admitted. "You're right. I don't….it's just that my whole life I've dreamed…."

"No, no, no, I mean you don't belong _here, _I mean in this room." Crane said. "This is my room." He tapped his bed with his foot. "Property of Crane."

"Oh, okay. Right, right." Po said, a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, you want to get to sleep."

"Yeah." Crane said.

"I'm keeping you up." Po said, slipping out the door. "We've got big things tomorrow. Alright. You're awesome. Last thing I'm gonna say. Okay. Bye bye." Po closed the door, but stayed outside the door, hoping to hear what Crane would say. Crane sighed inside. Po opened the door. "What was that?"

"I didn't say anything." Crane said.

"Okay." Po said. "Alright. Goodnight. Sleep well." Po closed the door and sighed. "Seemed a little bit awkward." Po tried to sneak into the room next door to go to sleep, but the doors across the hall burst open, and Po jumped, seeing Master Tigress.

"Master Tigress!" Po exclaimed. "Didn't mean to wake you. Just uh…."

"You don't belong here." Tigress said.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, of course." Po said, chuckling. "This is your room." Po's smile disappeared at Tigress' stern look that reminded him of Shifu.

"I mean, you don't belong in the Jade Palace." Tigress said. "You're a disgrace to kung fu and if you have _any _respect for who we are and what we do, you will be gone, by morning." Tigress shut the door, leaving Po standing in the hallway, alone and very hurt.

"Big fan." He said weakly. Po, with his head hung, walked out of the bunkhouse and out into the cool night.

_Tigress is right. _He thought. _I don't belong here. What was I thinking? I'm not the Dragon Warrior. I should be gone. Maybe I should do as Tigress told me and leave. _Po looked up and saw that he had wandered onto a cliff that had only a peach tree on it. Ripe peaches hung from the branches. Po licked his lips and started to pick peaches and eat them. After a while, he had eaten quite a few.

"I see you have found the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom."

Po whipped around, many peaches stuffed in his mouth. Oogway was standing behind him holding a lantern. _Why am I such a stupid idiot? _Po thought as he dropped the peaches.

"Is that what this is?" he asked. "I am so sorry! I thought it was just a regular peach tree!"

Oogway wasn't mad; in fact, he seemed to understand. "I understand." He said. "You eat when you are upset." Po spit out the peaches.

"Upset?" he asked. "I'm not upset. What makes you think I'm upset?" Po soon realized Oogway wasn't fooled very easily.

"So why are you upset?" the old tortoise asked. Po sighed, finally giving in. _If anyone could help me, someone as old as Oogway could. _

"I probably sucked more today than anyone in the history of kung fu, in the history of China, in the history of sucking!" Po said.

"Probably." Oogway said.

"And the Five!" Po cried. "Man, you should've seen them; they totally hate me!"

"Totally." Oogway replied.

"How's Shifu ever going to turn me into the Dragon Warrior?" Po lifted his stomach and dropped it, but his gut wouldn't stop moving until he stopped himself. He sighed. "I mean I'm not like the Five. I've got no claws, no wings, no venom. Even Mantis has those…." Po tried to mimic Mantis' arms. "….thingies." Po sighed and sat down. "Maybe I should just quit and go back to making noodles." _That's all I'm good at anyway. Dad was right; my destiny lies with the restaurant. _

"Quit, don't quit." Oogway said. Po turned to him. "Noodles, don't noodles? You are too concerned with what was and what will be." Po stared at the kind tortoise's ancient, jade green eyes. "There's a saying." Oogway said. "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why they call it the present." Oogway left the lantern on the cliff and hit the trunk of the peach three with his staff as he walked off. A peach fell into Po's open hand. Po stared after Oogway.

_He's right. _Po thought. _Today was just a bad day. Tomorrow, things will be different. _

Po sat back and enjoyed his peach.

A/N: Wow, I'm on a roll! Keep reading and reviewing! Also, Chrissy Mullins needs help deciding what she'll write next. Go to her profile for your choices. Then PM her and tell her your choice. Please do so!


	4. Tai Lung Returns

Chapter Three- Tai Lung Returns

After finishing his peach, Po started to pace, thinking about what he would do tomorrow.

_Ok. _He thought. _Oogway says I shouldn't be too worried. But everyone else is so much higher than me. Maybe I can practice tonight and some sort of Dragon Warrior powers will activate. _Po ran off, wandering around the palace until he came to a courtyard full of training equipment. He started with a punching bag, but hurt his fists trying punch (mostly because he wasn't punching correctly). So he walked to two bamboo beams propped up and climbed on, trying to do the splits. But he only hurt himself as he dipped down, bending the bamboo.

"Oh boy." He moaned. "This hurts my groin." Po tried pulling his legs off, but he was stuck. Po tired for about an hour before he started getting tired. Soon, the panda was asleep, still in the painful position.

Hours later, Po was still in that position. Bright sunlight hit his eyes, and he yawned and stretched. He sighed when he saw himself in the exact same position he was in when he got on the bamboo. Suddenly, he heard voices outside the walls.

"With the panda gone, who will be the Dragon Warrior?"

"All we can do is resume our training and trust that in time, the true Dragon Warrior will be revealed."

Po froze. It was Viper and Master Shifu. That means the rest of the Five are with them.

_Oh, I can't be caught in this position! _

Po tried to pull his leg out of the beam. When that didn't work, he tried to move it so it would look like he was doing a split. The doors opened behind him.

"What are you doing here?!" Shifu yelled.

Po straightened up. "Ah!" he yelped. "Hi. Good morning master!" Po bowed to Shifu. "I thought I'd warm up a little bit." Po leaned to the side, trying to look like it.

"You're stuck." Shifu said. He and the Five walked in.

"Stuck?" Po asked. "Whaa? Pfft….I'm not stuck." He chuckled. "No this is one of my…..yeah, I'm stuck."

"Help him." Shifu said.

"Oh dear." Crane muttered. He walked over to Po and took a hold of his shorts.

"Maybe on three." Po said. "One….two…." Crane pulled, flapping his wings. Po flopped off, hitting the ground hard. "Three." Po stood quickly. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Crane said.

"No, really, I appreci-"

"Ever." Crane said, walking off.

Shifu chuckled. "You actually thought you could do a full split in one night?" He took two stone discs and threw them into the air. "It takes years to develop one's flexibility." Tigress crouched down on the ground. Shifu snapped his fingers. "And years longer to apply it in combat." Tigress leaped up and did a perfect split, breaking the two discs. Po stared at the tiger in awe. Tigress landed on the ground like a cat, giving Po a dirty look. The pieces of the discs fell, one large chunk hitting Po on the head. He picked it up and tried to hide it behind his back.

"Put that down!" Shifu ordered. "The only souvenirs we collect here are bloody knuckles and broken bones."

"Yeah!" Po exclaimed, saluting. "Excellent."

Shifu smirked. "Let's get started."

Shifu started Po off by sparring. Po faced Viper first, with the rest of the Five waiting with Shifu.

"Are you ready?" Viper asked.

"I was born ready." Po said. Viper spun around, swiping Po's feet from under him, hitting him in the gut with her balled up tail, and swiping at his face. Po fell on his head, moaning.

"I'm sorry Brother!" Viper said. "I thought you said you were ready."

"That was awesome!" Po exclaimed. "Let's go again!" Po saluted. Shifu snapped his fingers, and Monkey went next. He tossed Po a bamboo staff to use, and then attacked. Po could hardly do anything to block until he heard the familiar tap of bamboo hitting bamboo.

"Whoa." Po said, looking for Monkey, who had disappeared. Monkey slammed his staff onto Po's head, and he fell over.

"Use the stick, not your head!" Monkey said. (A/N: This was a deleted line from the movie.)

Snap of the fingers, and Crane was next. He and Po climbed onto the jade bowl. Po tried to act tough, but only accomplished in falling in the bowl, slipping around and hitting his head.

Snap of the fingers.

Mantis was next.

The tiny bug moved so fast Po never saw him, literally. Po fell numerous times, for hours on end, until the sun started to set, and Mantis put Po on his back before hopping up onto Monkey's shoulder. Shifu chuckled.

_Wow. _Po thought. _For a tiny thing, Mantis is strong. But warriors don't quit. _

Po saluted once more.

"I've been taking it easy on you, Panda." Shifu growled. "But no more. You're next opponent…..will be me." Po shot up, standing.

"Alright, let's go!" he cried. _I'll be fighting _the _Master Shifu! This'll be great! _

"Step forth." Shifu ordered. Po took a step forward…..and Shifu grabbed his foot and spun him around a bit before slamming the poor panda to the ground. _Hey! _"The true path to victory is to find your opponent's weakness." Shifu said, bending Po's arm back. He hopped on his back, still holding his arm and pulling on Po's ear. "And make him suffer for it."

"Oh, yeah!" Po cried, excited. When really, this was what he was thinking: _Get the heck off! That hurts my ear! _

"To take his strength, and use it against him!" Shifu continued, flipping Po up and around, and then pulled him to his feet. _Thanks. _Po thought. Then Shifu jumped up and kicked Po in the jaw multiple times before spinning and kicking him to the side. _Dang it! Stop would you? _"-until he finally falls, or quits." Shifu said. He flipped Po on his stomach and grabbed his nose in one hand, pulling back. _That's it._

"But a real warrior never quits." Po said in a nasal voice. "Don't worry master. I will never quit!"

Po went flying into the air from Shifu throwing him. The last thing Po saw before he went flying was Shifu's small foot giving him a good flying backwards roundhouse kick to the face. Po went flying thru the doors of the training arena. He found himself flying towards the stairs. _Oh no! Come on! _

Po crashed on the stairs, bounced back up, and kept bouncing off the stairs.

_What is wrong with me? _Po thought. He caught glimpses of the Five watching him. Tigress disappeared, and the others watched for a long time before following. Finally, right before Po hit the bottom, he grabbed a bush to stop himself. He sighed as he pulled himself up. He looked back towards the village, then to the palace.

"What was I thinking?" he asked himself. "I'm not a warrior." Po started to turn and walk home, but stopped. Something pulled him back. "I just need a chance to prove myself." He said. "And I'm going to show Shifu that I can do it." Po started running up the steps, but only got up about ten before getting tired. "Man, do I need to go on a diet."

Po continued up the steps, but didn't get to the top until well after sunset. He wandered off into the bunkhouse, where Viper was waiting.

"Po, come with me." She said. Po followed.

"Why?" he asked.

"I think I know something that can help you feel better." Viper said, slithering to Mantis' room. "You took quite a beating." Po grimaced. _Well, at least Viper's nicer than Tigress or Shifu. _Po followed Viper into Mantis' room, who had a box of needles ready and a chart. On the chart was a wildcat and over the wildcat was a crudely drawn picture of Po. Po sat down.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Acupuncture." Mantis said as Viper held the chart in her curved coils. "It'll make you feel better." Mantis took a bunch of needles and started to put them into Po's back. Po yelped every time.

"Aaaoo…..whoohoo…EEEeee….hee…hee…..OW!" Po cried. He turned, trying to see Mantis. "I thought you said acupuncture would help me feel…." Mantis stuck another needle in him. "….._better_."

"Trust me." Mantis said. "It will. It's just not easy finding the right nerve points under all this…uh…."

"Fat?" Po said.

"Fur." Mantis said. "I was going to say fur."

"Sure you were." Po muttered.

"Who am I to judge a warrior based on his size?" Mantis said on Po's back. "I mean, look at me." Po looked over his shoulder, but didn't see the little warrior bug. "I'm over here." Po felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and he yelped.

"Maybe you should take a look at this again." Viper suggested.

"Oh." Mantis said. "Okay." Mantis went back to work with the needles. Po continued to yelp and laugh.

"Ow! Don't….." Po laughed. "Stop it! Stop- YOW!" Po was almost at his breaking point. "I know Master Shifu's trying to inspire me and all." He said as Mantis got more needles. "But if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was trying to get rid of me." Po started to laugh, but stuttered to a halt when Mantis and Viper didn't join. Viper did, however, give a nice smile.

"I know he can see kind of heartless." Mantis said, hopping onto Po's shoulder. He jabbed another needle in.

"Ah!" Po yelped.

"But you know, he wasn't always like that." Mantis continued. _How could Shifu be nice? _Po thought. _He seems so cruel. _

"According to legend," Viper said. "There was once a time when Master Shifu actually used to smile."

"No!" Po said, not convinced at all. _Shifu? Smiling? Yeah right!_

"Yes." Mantis assured.

"But that was before…." Viper started.

"Before what?" Po asked. Viper looked around, and then leaned forward a little.

Suddenly, Tigress burst into the room.

"Before Tai Lung." She said.

"Uh yeah." Crane said. Po turned and saw his silhouette from the other room. "We're not really supposed to talk about him."

"Well, if he's _going _to stay here." Tigress said. "He should know." Po didn't want an argument, so he intervened.

"Guys, guys, I know about Tai Lung." He said. "He was a student. The first ever to master the Thousand…." Po froze, seeing Tigress glaring at him. "….scrolls of…Kung…fu…..and then he turned bad….and…now he's in jail…and…"

"He wasn't just a student." Tigress said. Po straightened up and listened intently.

"Shifu found him as a cub." Tigress said. "And he raised him as his son. And when the boy showed talent in kung fu, Shifu trained him. He believed in him. He told him he was destined for greatness. It was never enough for Tai Lung. He wanted the Dragon Scroll. But Oogway saw darkness in his heart and refused. Outraged, Tai Lung laid waste to the valley. He tried to take the scroll by force. And Shifu had to destroy what he had created." Tigress sighed. "But how could he?" Tigress paused. "Shifu loved Tai Lung like he had never loved anyone before….or since."

"What happened to Shifu when he didn't attack?" Po asked.

"Tai Lung showed no mercy." Viper said. "He attacked Shifu and broke his leg. After Tai Lung went to prison, Shifu's leg never healed right." Po was shocked. Thinking back, he had always noticed that Shifu walked with a limp, but he never really thought about it. "Shifu felt like he had failed." Viper added.

"And now, he has a chance to make things right." Tigress said. "To train the _true _Dragon Warrior. And he's stuck with you: a big, fat, panda who treats it like a joke." Po felt ashamed, but all of a sudden, felt a strange sensation and made a goofy face at Tigress.

"Doieeee…." He said. All Po could do was watch as Tigress said, "Oh! That's it!" She started to swipe her claws down.

_Ah! _Po's mind screamed. _No! _

"Wait!" Po heard Mantis say. "My fault! I accidently tweaked his facial nerve!" Po fell forward. "And may have also stopped his heart." Mantis removed the needles and Po got up.

"That is so the last time I'm ever doing acupuncture." Po muttered.

"It was a bit funny." Viper admitted. Then, Po's stomach growled.

"sorry." He muttered. "I haven't had dinner yet."

"Well, neither have we." Monkey said as he and Crane came in. Then Po got an idea; one that might let the Five accept him.

"I can cook." He said. "Why don't I make dinner real fast?" The Five considered for a minute before leading Po into the kitchen. The panda got right to work, telling a story about a customer he supposedly told off.

"Yeah, so I'm like, 'Fine, you may be a wolf. You make be the scariest bandit in the Haijin Province, but you're a lousy tipper.'"

"Really." Crane said. "So, how'd you get out of there alive?" Po froze. Oops.

"I mean, I didn't actually say that." He said. He tossed four bowls onto his arm and poured his noodle soup in. "But I thought it. In…in my mind." Po picked up another bowl of noodles. "If he…..could read my mind he would've been like, 'What?'" Po tossed a bowl to everyone but Tigress, who had refused his cooking from the start. "Order up! Hope you like it." Po looked expectantly.

"This is really good!" Mantis exclaimed.

"No, come on!" Po said, bashful. "You should try my dad's secret ingredient soup. He actually….knows the secret ingredient."

"What are you talking about?" Viper said. "This is amazing!"

"Wow." Crane said. "You're a really good cook."

"I wish my mouth was bigger!" Mantis said.

Po smiled; pleased he had finally impressed four of the Furious Five members.

"Tigress, you've got to try this." Monkey said.

"Hmmm." Tigress said, eating her tofu. "It is said that the Dragon Warrior can survive for months at a time on nothing but the dew of a single gingko leaf and the energy of the universe." Po's been shot down again. He tried to play it cool.

"I guess my body doesn't know it's the Dragon Warrior yet." He chuckled. "I'm gonna need a lot more than dew. And uh universe juice." Po picked up his bowl and drank the broth. He set it down and sighed. Mantis laughed. "What?"

"Oh nothing." Mantis said. "Master Shifu." Everyone else (minus Tigress) laughed as well. Po saw a noodle stuck to his mouth that looked like Master Shifu's whiskers. He got an idea again. Po got down on his knees and put his hands behind his back like Shifu.

"You will never be the Dragon Warrior!" He said in a gruff voice. "Unless you lose five hundred pounds and brush your teeth!" The Five continued to laugh. Tigress remains silent.

"What is that noise you're making?" Po said, imitating Shifu. "Laughter? I've never heard of it! Work hard Panda, and maybe someday," Po picked up two noodles bowls. "You will have ears like mine!" Po put the bowls to his. The Five laughed.

"That's good." Crane said. They turned to Po…..and froze, their smiles disappearing.

"Ears." Po said, going back to normal. "It's not working for you? I thought they were pretty good."

"It's Shifu." Monkey whispered.

"Of course it's Shifu!" Po said. "What do you think I'm doing?" Monkey pointed beyond Po, nobody saying a word. Po's smile disappeared. _Uh oh. _Po looked behind him….

"Ooh!" Po cried, jumping to his feet and pressing the bowls to his chest. "Master Shifu! Uh…" Po slurped the noodle…..and reveals that the bowls stuck to his chest like bra. The others snicker.

"You think this is funny?" Shifu demanded. "Tai Lung has escaped from prison! And you're acting like children!"

"What?" Po asked.

"He is coming for the Dragon Scroll!" Shifu turned to him. "And you are the only one who can stop him."

Po froze…and the noodle bowls clattered to the ground.

_Me? _He thought. _This can't be happening. Was Tai Lung supposed to be the evil I was going to defeat all along?  
_

A/N: I think we'll stop right here. Just a few more chapters to go! Read and Review!


	5. Final Training Sessions

Chapter Four- Final Training Sessions

Then, Po laughed.

"And here I am saying you got no sense of humor." He told Shifu. "I'm gonna…" he stuttered a little when he saw Shifu's dead serious face. "…stop Tai Lung….what? You're serious? And I have to…." _Say what? _"Uh…no…uh….Master Oogway will stop him! He did it before, he can do it again!"

"Oogway cannot!" Shifu exclaimed. He stared sadly at Oogway's staff in his hands. "Not anymore." He said softly. Po got the message.

_Oogway's…..dead? _The panda was heartbroken, seeing as the old tortoise was the one who convinced Po to stay and train to be the Dragon Warrior.

"Our only hope is the Dragon Warrior." Shifu continued.

"The panda?" Tigress asked.

"Yes!" Shifu said. "The panda!"

_No way. _Po thought. _I'm outta here. _Quietly, Po slipped out the door and to the steps on the side of the mountain. Then, Po ran for his dear life, screaming.

"!" he screamed, running down to the village. He figured his dad would be glad to have him back. But as he got to a clearing, Shifu suddenly landed in front of the next set of steps. Po skidded to a halt before he could crash into him.

"You cannot leave!" Shifu said, pointing Oogway's staff at the panda. "A real warrior never quits."

"Watch me!" Po said. He tried faking Shifu out and running around him, but Shifu used Oogway's staff to turn him around. Po sighed. "Come on! How am I supposed to beat Tai Lung? I can't even beat you to the stairs!"

"You will beat him because _you _are the Dragon Warrior!" Shifu said, jabbing Oogway's staff into Po's stomach.

"Ow!" Po yelped. He got angry. "You don't believe that!" he yelled, pointing at Shifu. The old master swiped his paw away. "You never believed that! From the first moment I got here you've been trying to get rid of me!" Po tried to run again, but Shifu swept his feet out from under him and he fell flat on his back.

"Yes!" Shifu admitted. "I was! But now I ask that you trust in your master as I have come to trust in mine." Po sat up and saw Oogway's staff practically in his face.

"You're not my master." Po said. He shoved the staff away. "And I'm not the Dragon Warrior." _I never was. _

"Then why didn't you quit?" Shifu yelled. "You knew I was trying to get rid of you, yet you stayed!"

"Yeah, I stayed." Po said, getting up. "I stayed because every time you threw a brick at my head, or said I smelled, it hurt. But it could never hurt more than it did every day of my life just being me." Po's anger melted a little. "I stayed because I thought if anyone could change me; could make me…._not _me, it was _you_. The greatest kung fu teacher in all of China!"

"But I _can _change you!" Shifu said. "I _can _turn you into the Dragon Warrior, and I will!"

"Come on!" Po said. "Tai Lung is on his way here right now! And even if it takes him a hundred years to get here, how are _you _going to change _this _into the Dragon Warrior? Huh?" Shifu seemed speechless.

"How?" Po challenged. _He can't do it. _Po thought. _He can't do it. He doesn't believe in me, he just was forced to by Oogway. Can he do it?_

"How?" Po pleaded. Shifu's ear twitched, but he said nothing.

Po was furious. "HOW?!" he yelled.

"I don't know!" Shifu yelled. He sighed. "I don't know." Po was taken aback. He sighed as well.

"That's what I thought." He said. Shifu only walked off, leaving the stairway open. Po hesitated and watched as Shifu walked off. He stayed rooted in the spot for a long time before he turned and ran after Shifu. But the old and mourning master had disappeared into the shadows. Po groaned. _I shouldn't have said that. _He thought as he wandered about. He wasn't tired at all. _I should've listened. But I let my big mouth do the talking. _Po stopped outside a pair of double doors. Good smells were coming out, and Po realized he was probably standing outside the place where food was kept. Po smiled, all of a sudden hungry. But when he saw the locked door, he frowned. Po punched the door hard.

_Crack._

Po was surprised, doing it again.

_Crack._

Po smiled and kept hitting the doors until they broke. He wandered in and found a lot of the food in locked cupboards.

(A/N: I think I'm going to resort to first person, Po's POV, from now on.)

It didn't stop me for one second. I started jumping around, not really aware of what I was doing. All I knew was that I was getting food out of it. It seemed like a short time later that, after I had punched a hole thru an inch-thick cupboard, that I had a feeling someone was watching me. I turned to the broken doors and froze in mid-chew, staring at the person in the doorway who was staring back at me with shock.

Why did that person have to be Master Shifu?

For a while, we just stared at each other. Then, Shifu looked around the room, obviously shocked when he saw the destroyed kitchen. I burped a little and he looked at me with disgust. I got mad again.

"What?" I demanded. I wiped my mouth and swallowed. "I eat when I'm upset, okay?" Shifu did something that surprised me.

"Oh, no need to explain." He said, turning to walk away. He turned back at the last second. "I just thought you might be Monkey. He hides his almond cookies on the top shelf." Shifu walked off, and my eyes wandered to the top shelf. I gasped, glad for Shifu's kindness. I ran to the shelf. Somehow, I managed to get up there and keep myself balanced as I searched for the famed cookies. I did find them in a pretty blue vase. I started shoveling them into my mouth. Then, I found Shifu back in the room, staring up at me.

I was caught again.

"Don't tell Monkey." I said with my mouth full.

"Look at you!" Shifu said.

"Yeah, I know." I said, taking another cookie. "I disgust you."

"No!" Shifu said. "No, I mean, how did you get up there?"

"I don't know." I said. I grabbed another cookie. "I…..just….I don't know. I was getting a cookie."

"And yet you are ten feet off the ground." Shifu said. "And have done a perfect split."

I looked down, grabbing one last cookie. "No, this?" I said. "This is just an…." Suddenly, I felt my feet slipping. "….accident…" I fell, groaning as I hit the floor. I saw my cookie roll to Shifu, who picked it up and smiled a little.

"There are no accidents." He said. "Come with me." Shifu turned and walked off. I struggled to get up, wondering if I was getting punished or something.

Turns out, I wasn't. Well, not really. When I finally joined Shifu, he had packed a large bag of cooking stuff, some wood, and bed rolls. He instructed me to carry it all and led me far away from the Jade Palace, up a mountain. About halfway up, I was beyond exhausted, and I leaned against the rock wall for support.

"I know you're trying to be all mystical and kung fu-ey." I told Shifu, who was already ahead of me. "But could you at least tell me where we're going?"

Shifu didn't answer, he just kept walking farther ahead. I gasped for breath as we reached the top. I figured that, along with my fatness, high altitudes didn't agree with me. I dropped the bag and dragged myself over to a pool. Shifu was meditating on a rock about a foot away.

"You….drag me….all the way out here…." I gasped. "…for a bath?!" I stared into the waters and picked some up with my paw.

"Panda." Shifu said. "We do not wash our pits in the Pool of Sacred Tears."

I froze and shook the water off my hand. "Huh? The Pool of…." Shifu got off the rock and stood next to me.

"This is where Oogway unraveled the mysteries…." Shifu paused briefly. Obviously, mentioning the dead tortoise's name was sad and hurting. "…..of harmony and focus; this is the birthplace of kung fu."

Then, the sun broke thru the clouds, and I clutched my chest, thinking my heart had stopped. This place was the birthplace of the one thing I loved more than anything in the world? I looked around, amazed. Then, I felt a rush of air, and I noticed Shifu wasn't next to me anymore. I looked up into the sky and saw his silhouette against the sun. He landed on a large rock tower in front of me. I stared up at him, my mouth hanging open.

"Do you want to learn kung fu?" he asked me.

Was I hearing right? Was he actually going to teach me? Shifu seemed dedicated to teach.

So I had to be dedicated to learn.

"Yeah." I said.

"Then I _am _your master!" he declared. Happiness swelled up inside me.

"Ok!" I said, sniffling a little.

"Don't cry." Shifu said.

"Ok." I said. I wiped my nose, smiling. Shifu jumped high into the air and I didn't see him for a minute. Then, he landed on the rock behind me. I turned and caught a brief glimpse of him wincing in pain.

"You ok?" I asked.

"I'm fine." He snapped. He slid off the rock, landing on his right leg only. Then I realized that he must've landed on his bad leg pretty hard, and his bad leg was the one Tai Lung broke. Shifu started walking away.

"For a couple days, maybe a week, we'll be camping out here." Shifu told me. "You must realize that what you're going to go thru during your training might discourage you and harm you." Shifu turned to me. "If at any time you wish to leave, we'll stop immediately, pack up, and go back to the palace."

"I won't fail you, master." I said. Shifu smiled.

"Then let's get started."

*****

We walked a long ways away, so a grassy field that had some rocks her and there. Shifu showed me basic punches and kicks, and how to get into a basic ready position. He had me hold that position while he climbed onto a rock in front of me.

"When you focus on kung fu...." he told me. "When you concentrate….you stink." My face fell. "But perhaps that is my fault. I cannot train you the way I have trained the Five. I now see that the way to get thru to you is with this." Shifu pulled out a bowl of dumplings. I dropped my stance.

"Oh great!" I said. "Cause I'm hungry!" Shifu chuckled, pulling the bowl away from my outstretched hands.

"good." He said. He pulled out some chopsticks. "When you have been trained, you may eat." Shifu popped a dumpling into his mouth, jumping down from the rock. "Let's begin." I stared at him.

"With what?" I asked.

I wish I hadn't asked.

While Shifu was standing on a branch with a bamboo staff and a bowl of food, I was hanging on the branch by my legs and doing sit ups. I was suspended about twenty feet in the air. I thought I was doing pretty well until the branch broke a little. Shifu flipped onto a rock nearby while I swung around and caught the bowl of food. Then the branch broke all the way off and I fell, Shifu catching the food.

And so, over the next couple days or so, Shifu put me thru some weird and grueling tasks that involved me cooking food, trying to get the food, and Shifu hitting me with something.

Then he had me make some stir fry and gave me a bowl. I tossed the chopsticks aside and tried to eat, but Shifu came in with his staff again and hit my face about three times before twirling the staff around and breaking the bowl the food dumped to the ground. Shifu smirked, then hit my nose when I tried to eat the food again.

Shifu took a dumpling and we returned to the plains. Then he had me try and get the dumpling from him, but I failed. I kept trying, and he tossed it up into the air. I tried shoving him away so I'd catch it, but Shifu gave me a roundhouse kick to the face, and I fell to the ground.

This next one was the one I hated the most. Shifu had me to push ups…..on my knuckles….with a bowl of veggies right below my face…..and some hot, glowing coals beneath my stomach. Shifu allowed me a little lick of the food as I came down, but those coals were hot!

The next one was better. Shifu had me balance bowls of food on my head while he showed me how to move around and not drop the bowls. That was pretty fun, and I found out I was learning a lot.

This came in handy with my next task. Shifu had me make some soup and disappeared, challenging me to try and take some and drink it. I ventured close to it, looked around for the tiny master, and moved in. Shifu hit me hard, jumping behind me out of nowhere. He kept trying to hit me with his bamboo staff, but I had managed to block a little and got some soup. But Shifu jabbed me in the stomach and kit the soup into the air. Shifu tossed his staff up and landed on it, balancing on the edge of the cooking pot as he caught the soup and drank it. I thought I'd make him fall and kicked the staff. But Shifu was smarter than that, and the staff hit my nose.

The next couple of training sessions was a lot more, well, fighting stuff.

Shifu showed me some more advanced moves in kung fu as fireflies were flying around. He had told me that, if I did it right, I wouldn't hit a single one of them. And he was right. Then he joined me in doing pushups with my legs spread a little and pushing up with one finger. He made that look easy.

Then, he sparred with me. I found that I had enough training to block all his moves and even lay down some blows. I had never seen Shifu so proud of me. I found myself doing things I never thought possible.

The next morning, I woke up feeling a bit tired and hungry. Shifu had allowed me a little food to keep my strength up, but it wasn't much. I looked over at Shifu's bed roll and saw him sleeping peacefully. I got up quietly and started making a little breakfast. Shifu had left me a note by the burned out fire.

_Panda,_

_Make rice for breakfast and then make some dumplings for your training._

_Master Shifu._

I obeyed, but a little annoyed that, even in a simple note, Shifu wouldn't call me by my name. I made some rice and dumplings and set them aside. My stomach growled. I knew that Shifu couldn't allow me to eat unless he was awake to make sure I didn't go past my restrictions. I glanced over to Shifu, who had turned over in his sleep. His back was to me. I glanced at the rice.

Surely, I could sneak a bite or two.

I grabbed some chopsticks and picked up some of the sticky rice. I took one more glance to make sure Shifu was asleep and shoved the food into my mouth.

Then, somebody's foot slammed into my back, and the food came flying out of my mouth. I gagged and turned around, thinking Master Shifu and I were being attacked.

Turns out, the only thing attacking was Master Shifu himself. He was frowning.

"What did I tell you about sneaking food?" he asked me. I sighed.

"Don't do it or 'you shall run a thousand laps.'" I said. "I know." I handed the bowl to Shifu. He ate about three fourths of the bowl and handed the rest to me.

"Eat up." He said, grabbing the dumplings. "You'll need the energy." Shifu rummaged thru the bag and I ate the rice. How rice will give me energy, I'm not sure. I wasn't an expert on the health values of sticky rice.

When I was done eating, I joined Shifu as he took me to a nice, hilly place some ways away. I watched as Shifu set out two bowls, two sets of chopsticks, and the bowl of dumplings on the rocks set up strangely like a table and two benches.

Shifu stayed standing and picked up a pair of chopsticks. He gestured towards the dumplings.

"After you, Panda." He told me.

Say what? "Just like that?" I asked. He nodded. "No sit ups? No….no…ten mile hike?"

"I vowed to train you." He said. "And you have been trained. You are free to eat." I sat down, not buying it for a second. _What's your plan, old man? _ I thought. I grabbed my chopsticks. Shifu stayed reverent. I took a dumpling and gave him a look that said, "Are you sure?"

All Shifu said was, "Enjoy." He smiled, raising an eyebrow to test me. I smiled and raised the dumpling to my mouth.

But it disappeared as Shifu swiped it from me.

"Hey." I said. Shifu ate the dumpling quickly. He gave me an innocent look.

"I said you are free to eat." He said. "Have a dumpling." I raised an eyebrow, clicking my chopsticks together. I grabbed another…

…..Shifu kicked it out of my grasp.

"Hey!" I whined. Shifu grabbed my dumpling and ate it. I glared at him. Now he's gonna get it.

"You are free to eat." Shifu repeated.

"Am I?" I challenged.

"Are you?" he returned. He twirled his chopsticks in his hand.

I smiled. _So that's how it's gonna be. Bring it on! _I clicked my chopsticks together.

I thought I'd upset the dumplings and I knocked them up into the air. But I was shocked that Shifu jumped up and practically swallowed almost all of them. _What a big mouth. _There was only one dumpling left, and I jumped up to catch it in my mouth. Shifu was faster, grabbing the dumpling before I could touch it. I fell to the ground.

"Ow!" I cried. I flipped myself onto my feet and used my chopsticks to separate Shifu's right before he could eat the dumpling. The food fell into the bowl, and I lunged for it. Shifu gabbed it first, chuckling as he kept it away from me. I tried to grab it again, but Shifu used the bowl like a shield to block my chopsticks. He twisted the bowl upside down, holding it in place as he smirked. I watched as he flipped the other two bowls over and started shuffling them around quickly. I tried keeping my eyes on the one that had the dumpling under it and lunged, flipping one bowl over.

The dumpling was inside.

I cheered and Shifu and I continued our battle. Shifu hit my hand away with his tiny fingers. Who knew such small fingers would hurt so much! I jumped back and shoved the bowl away, kicking it up into the air. The dumpling flew into the air. I reached up to grab it, but one of Shifu's chopsticks shot thru it, pinning the dumpling to a branch on the tree near us. Shifu jumped off the back of my neck towards the dumpling, but I grabbed his foot with my chopsticks and pulled him to the ground. We both looked up as the dumpling started slipping off the chopstick. Shifu gave me a look that said, "Stay alert" and kicked his foot out of my grasp, grabbing my hand and flipping me over in a weird hold. I flipped him over, but he darted under my legs and flipped me onto my back. I looked back at the dumpling as it started falling. Shifu saw it, too. I jumped forward and grabbed Shifu by the tail, pulling him away. I opened my mouth wide to catch the dumpling.

Shifu's chopstick came up and snapped my jaw shut, making me bite my tongue.

I saw the dumpling land on Shifu's arm and hit it up into the air as I twisted around to swipe Shifu's legs. I know, I shouldn't take advantage of his bad leg, but I didn't need to worry because Shifu jumped up and kicked the dumpling away. I chased after it. I was about to grab the dumpling when Shifu came soaring over my head with his bamboo staff. He hit the dumpling up and I blocked a hit from him. We kept hitting and blocking, keeping the dumpling high in the air until I did something I thought I'd never do in my life.

I blocked a hit from Shifu's staff and pinned it to the ground with my foot.

Then I leaped into the air and bounced the dumpling off my stomach.

I flew thru the air and landed on my feet.

I saw the dumpling and reached up…..

…..catching it in my chopsticks.

I breathed deeply, tired from the fight. I stared at the dumpling, then turned to Shifu, who wasn't fighting me anymore. He was actually staring, smiling even, at me with amazement. He stood up straight and gestured towards me.

He was allowing me to eat.

I had completed my training.

I stared at the dumpling, smiled, and tossed it into Shifu's hand. Shifu jumped and stared at me, giving me a skeptical look. I smirked this time.

"I'm not hungry." I said.

Shifu smiled, like he was saying, "Yeah, right" in a sarcastic tone. I smiled broadly, putting my fist to my palm.

"Master." I said. Shifu put his fist to his palm as well, and we bowed to each other.

A/N: Almost done!


	6. The Dragon Scroll

Chapter Five- The Dragon Scroll

Soon after the dumpling battle, Shifu had me pack up and we walked home. We stayed pretty much silent the entire way, but I had a little jump in my step. I just couldn't believe I had done it. I had faith I would beat Tai Lung. It wasn't until we got to the palace that Shifu actually said something.

"You have done well, Panda." He told me. I smiled, not caring that he had called me Panda again.

"Done well?" I repeated. "Done well? Ha! I've done awesome!" I swung my stomach around and hit Shifu, knocking him off-guard. He regained his composure, though.

"The mark of a true hero is humility." He told me. "But yes. You have done-" Suddenly, he punched my side, and I cried out in pain, holding my side. "-awesome." We chuckled, pointing fingers at each other.

Then, I heard wings flapping.

Shifu heard it, too. We turned and saw something coming at us.

"Huh?" I said. That can't be Tai Lung.

It was worse.

It was the Furious Five, unmoving.

Crane was fine, just a little beat up. Everyone else was in even worse shape, but they weren't moving.

"Guys?" I said. I dropped the bag and rushed to their sides. "Guys! They're dead! No, they're breathing. They're asleep? No, they're eyes are open."

"We were no match….for his nerve attack." Crane said. I swallowed. A nerve attack is the best way to immobilize someone.

"He has gotten stronger." Shifu muttered. He healed Mantis of his nerve pinch.

"Who?" I asked. "Tai Lung? Stronger?" I stared at Monkey as Shifu healed him next. What I didn't expect was Monkey punching me in the face. I stepped back, holding my face.

"He's too fast he cried." He looked up at me. "Sorry, Po." He said. I gave him a thumbs-up and watched as Shifu healed Tigress. She gasped.

"I thought we could stop him." I heard her mumble.

"He could have killed you." Shifu scolded gently.

"Why didn't he?" Mantis asked.

Shifu moved on to heal Viper. "So you could come back here and strike fear into our hearts." He said. "But it won't work."

I stared at him, a look of doubt clearly etched onto my face. "Uh….it might." I said. "I mean……a little……I'm pretty scared."

But Shifu wouldn't let me off that easy. "You can defeat him, Panda."

"Uh….are you kidding?" I said. "I mean….if _they _can't." I gestured towards the Five. "They're five masters. I'm just one me!"

"But you will have the one thing that no one else does." Shifu said, grinning. I stared at him for a moment before realizing what he meant.

*****

We stood there, in the Sacred Hall of Warriors, staring up at the Dragon Scroll in the golden dragon's mouth. I looked at Shifu, who was beside me.

"You really….believe I'm ready?" I asked uncertainly.

"You are….." Shifu said. "…..Po." I jumped back a little in surprise. Not once had Shifu called me by my name. But I guess I earned it. I watched as Shifu walked to Oogway's shrine and picked up his ancient staff. Shifu walked to the Moon Pool and twirled the staff around, upsetting the peach tree petals from the pool. Then, Shifu did some kung fu moves, twirling the petals around in a small tornado and sending them up towards the dragon. A single petal landed on the Dragon Scroll.

And it slipped out easily.

Right before the scroll could drop into the Moon Pool, rumored to be bottomless, Shifu lunged with Oogway's staff, catching it. I walked to him, amazed. He turned to me with the scroll in his hand.

"Behold." He said. "The Dragon Scroll. It is yours."

I started to reach for it when I stopped. "Wait. What happens when I read it?"

"No one knows." Shifu admitted. "But legend says you will be able to hear a butterfly's wing beat."

"Whoa, really?!" I exclaimed. I crept back to my old fan boyish ways. "That's cool."

"Yes." Shifu said. "And see light in the deepest cave; you will feel the universe in motion around you."

I laughed. "Wow! Can I punch thru walls?" Here I go again. "Can….can I do a quadruple back flip? Will I have invisibility…."

"Focus." I finally heard Shifu say.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Focus." Shifu repeated.

"Oh." I said. "Yeah."

Shifu smirked a little. "Read it, Po, and fulfill your destiny." Shifu told me, handing me the scroll. "Read it and become the Dragon Warrior."

"Whoa!" I took the scroll and tried to pull off the top. But it was stuck. So I pulled harder. "It's impossible to open." I muttered. I tried the other end, even trying to bite the top off. "Come on baby! Come on now!" I saw Shifu's outstretched hand. I gave the scroll to him and he opened it with ease. He handed it to me. "Thank you." I said. I muttered, "Probably, loosened it up for you, though." I cleared my throat as I took out the scroll. "Ok here it goes." I warily opened the scroll.

When I opened it fully, I screamed, a bright, golden light in my eyes.

_I'm blind!!! _My mind screamed. _What kind of powers are these? Why won't this light die down so I can see what's written?_

Then, the light did die down, and I stopped screaming to look. I stared at the surface of the scroll, mystified.

_It's……it's……..it's….._

I looked at Shifu.

"It's blank." I said.

"What?" he demanded. I tried showing him the scroll.

"here, look." I insisted. Shifu turned away.

"No!" he said. "I am forbidden to look upon-" He stopped, staring at the scroll, before he finally gave in and snatched it from my hands. He looked at it, closed it, opened it again, and looked at it from different angles, even checking the back. But then, I heard him admit it.

"Blank." He said. "I don't…." He turned to me and the Five. "….I don't understand."

I understood. "Ok." I said. "So like, Oogway….was just a crazy old turtle after all."

"No." Shifu said, walking to the Moon Pool. "Oogway was wiser than us all."

I didn't buy it. "Oh come on! Face it: he picked me by accident! Of course I'm not the Dragon Warrior." I hiked up my shorts and flopped down to my butt. "Who am I kidding?" I muttered. For a moment, all of us stayed quiet. Tigress spoke up first.

"But who will stop Tai Lung?" she asked, not looking in my direction.

"He'll destroy everything." Crane said. "And everyone."

I felt sick to my stomach. My first thought was Dad. How could he protect himself?

"No." Shifu said.

I turned to Shifu, who handed me the Dragon Scroll. Even though I thought I wasn't the Dragon Warrior, he thought the scroll was rightfully mine. I just took it and swore to myself I'd protect it from Tai Lung.

"Evacuate the valley." Shifu ordered to the Five and me. "You must protect the villagers from Tai Lung's rage."

"What about you, Master?" Tigress asked.

"I will fight him." Shifu said. I abruptly turned to him, shocked.

"What?" I asked.

"I can hold him off long enough for everyone to escape." Shifu told me.

"But Shifu…." I said. It was the first time I hadn't called him Master directly. "….he'll kill you." As much as Shifu kind of irritated me, I don't want him dead. Shifu turned to me and smiled.

"Then I will finally have paid for my mistake." He said. He turned to the Five. I was heartbroken. "Listen to me, all of you." He said, addressing me as well. "It is time for you to continue your journey without me." I stood, facing Shifu. "I am very proud to have been your master." He smiled and bowed to us for what seemed to be the first time in a long time.

It would also be the last time.

The Five and I bowed back in respect, and we parted ways. I stayed rooted in the spot, the Five walked towards the door, and Shifu walked to the edge of the Moon Pool. I stared after him, wishing I could do something, say anything.

I wish it would be me instead of him.

Crane came to me and gently pulled me away. I stared at Shifu one last time before joining the others.

*****

When the Five and I got to the bottom, it was dark and storm clouds were approaching. The villagers were packing some important belongings and leaving quickly. I saw Tigress split the others up into groups before helping a family of rabbits. I was a few feet behind and I sulked as I walked home. As I got to the gate of the restaurant, and heard someone behind me mutter with disdain.

"Look." They said. "It's the Dragon Warrior." I almost turned to tell them off, but decided otherwise. I walked inside the restaurant and saw Dad packing a large cart. I was a bit afraid to face him after what had happened. I sighed.

"Hey, Dad." I said.

There was a pause, and then my dad cried, "Po!" and he ran to me to give me a hug. I smiled and hugged him back. Then, I felt something tie around my waist, and I pulled away to see that he had tied my old apron back on me.

"It is good to have you back, son." Mr. Ping said, going back to the cart. I sighed.

"Good to be back." I said glumly.

"Let's go, Po." My dad said. He tried to pull the cart, but I put the Dragon Scroll on and insisted on doing it myself. We walked off to join the trail of villagers, Dad ranting on about the "Future of Noodles". I couldn't care less. All I could think about was Shifu. I took one last glance at the Jade Palace, now dark and evil-looking, before following my dad. My heart was still in two pieces from what Shifu had said.

_FLASHBACK_

"_I will fight him." _

"_But Shifu, he'll kill you!"_

"_Then I will finally have paid for my mistake."_

_FLASHBACK END_

I stopped in my tracks, realizing how Shifu had become not just my master, but also a friend. My head slumped down, and I stayed rooted in the spot, completely upset.

"Uh, Po." I saw my dad coming to me. The villagers had disappeared. "I'm sorry things didn't work out. It just…wasn't meant to be." I sighed and leaned against the cart. Not helping, Dad. "Po, forget everything else. Your destiny still awaits! We _are _Noodle Folk! Broth runs deep thru our veins!"

"I don't know, Dad." I said. "Honestly, sometimes I can't believe I'm actually your son."

Dad seemed taken aback. He sighed. "Po…I think it's time I told you something I should've told you a long time ago." I perked up, thinking he'd tell me why I was a panda and he was a goose.

"Ok?" I asked.

He looked around. "The secret ingredient of my Secret Ingredient Soup."

"Oh." I said. I didn't really know why he'd say that, but I guess he was just trying to make me feel better.

"The secret ingredient is….." Dad started.

I figured it was probably some spice he made himself, or maybe just some salt and pepper. Or some kind of rare vegetable or fruit.

"…..nothing." he said.

A/N: The next chapter may be the last. I don't know. Read and Review!


	7. Fighting Tai Lung

Chapter Six- Fighting Tai Lung

It took a moment for me to soak that in. Then, I was utterly surprised.

"Huh?" I asked.

"You heard me!" my dad said. "Nothing! There is no secret ingredient."

"Wait, wait." I said. "It's just plain old noodle soup?" My dad nodded. "You don't add any special sauce or something?"

"Don't have to." My dad said. "To make something special you just have to believe it's special."

Then, it hit me, like somebody had just hit me in the head with a hammer.

I pulled out the Dragon Scroll and unrolled it. I stared at my reflection on the golden surface. I looked up, finally realizing the truth.

"There is no secret ingredient." I said.

My dad only gave me a weird look, but I smiled. I had finally figured it out! I knew Oogway wasn't a crazy old turtle after all! Wait until Shifu-

I froze briefly before turning around and looking up at the dark Jade Palace. Lightning struck pretty close to the mountain.

Shifu was up there now, probably already fighting Tai Lung. There was a slim chance he'd live.

But if he didn't……

"Dad, I have to go help Master Shifu." I said. I tore off my apron, put the scroll back in its container and held onto it tightly as I started running to the palace. My dad grabbed me by the shorts.

"Absolutely not!" he cried. "You could be killed!"

"If I am killed, at least I'll die trying to help him!" I yelled. I gently removed my dad's grip. "Look, I know you're my dad, but you have to let me do this."

"But your destiny lies with the restaurant." My dad said.

"No, that's _your _destiny." I said. "_My _destiny is being the Dragon Warrior. As the Dragon Warrior, I have to defeat Tai Lung." My dad stared at me. I knew he didn't want me to be in danger, but I had to do this. Finally, my dad sighed and stepped back.

"Go." He said, dragging the cart down the road. I sighed and walked off. "Po." I turned back to my dad, who was smiling broadly. "I'm very proud of you." I smiled and started running. But by the time I got to the stairs, I was pretty tired. But I kept going, determined to reach Shifu before he was in too much trouble. I was about fifty feet from the gate when I stopped, huffing and puffing.

"Curse these forsaken stairs!" I cried to the sky. I almost fell over when lightning flashed again I looked up and saw two shapes in the sky against the dark clouds. The larger one I recognized as some sort of cat. It had to be Tai Lung. The other was a lot smaller and I couldn't figure out who it was until I noticed the shape had large ears.

Oh dang it.

I watched with horror as Tai Lung grabbed Shifu and pushed him down so he fell head first thru the roof and back into what I assumed was the Sacred Hall of Warriors.

"Shifu hold on!" I cried, running up the stairs and thru the door. Then, I came to a whole new set of stairs. "For the love of the gods!" I sighed and started running, tucking the Dragon Scroll into the waistband of my pants. I kept running and running until I reached the top. I walked up to the shattered doorway and looked in. I was horrified to see Shifu with Tai Lung's hand on his throat, slowly strangling him. I saw Tai Lung unsheathe his sharp claws, and I had a bad feeling.

So I breathed in and I shouted "HEY!"

Luckily, Tai Lung did stop and he turned to me. But I leaned on my knees again. I pointed behind me.

"Stairs." Was all I could mutter out.

"Who are you?" Tai Lung demanded.

I tried to sound tough. "Buddy, I am the Dragon Warrior." I tried striking the kung fu stance, but I leaned on my knees in exhaustion.

"You?" Tai Lung growled. He stood up, laughing. He tossed Shifu to the ground. When he didn't get back up, I was afraid he was dead. "Him? He's a panda. You're a panda. What are going to do Big Guy? Sit on me?" He chuckled darkly.

I decided to play along. Besides, I had to get him away from Shifu, in case he was still alive. "Don't tempt me." I said, chuckling. Since I had finally regained my breath, I stood up. "Now, I'm gonna use……" I pulled out the Dragon Scroll. "…this." I laughed with triumph. "You want it? Come get it."

Before I could blink, Tai Lung ran at me and punched me in the face, and I lost my grip on the scroll. I flew backwards, hit a pillar, and bounced back.

"Finally!" Tai Lung said, grabbing the scroll. Then, I rammed into him, knocking the scroll out of his hands and sending _him _flying into a pillar. But he didn't bounce back. The scroll landed in my hand. Tai Lung stared at me, dumbfounded. I chuckled a bit, and then got into a kung fu stance, ready for battle.

Then, Tai Lung started running at me on all fours, snarling.

So what do I do?

I turn and try to run.

Tai Lung slammed into me, and we went flying out the door. The Dragon Scroll flew out of my hand, but I grabbed it. Tai Lung growled at me.

I just chuckled innocently, but my mind was saying _Oh boy. Incoming trouble._

Tai Lung kneed me in the stomach and I bounced off a building and onto a tree, the same tree that I had used as an attempt to enter the palace the day I was named Dragon Warrior. The treetop bent under my weight, touching the ground. Tai Lung pounced towards me, yelling. I saw the tree, smiled, and rolled off, letting the tree hit the poor cat in the face. I got up and turned to face him, only to have his stupid foot collide with my face. I started bouncing down the steps.

"That scroll is mine!" Tai Lung yelled, jumping towards me. He grabbed the scroll and kicked me in the face again. We tumbled and bounced down the stairs, and somehow I always landed on Tai Lung. At the last bounce, I actually sat on him. I would've laughed if we hadn't crashed thru the top of the gate at the bottom. Tai Lung kicked me away, and I lost the Dragon Scroll. A large pot of noodles landed on my head and when I took to pot off, my head was covered in noodles. I suddenly got an idea. I shook the noodles off my head and took one in my hand. Using it as a lasso, I grabbed the scroll before Tai Lung could touch it and pulled it towards me, chuckling.

"Ow!" I cried as it bounced off my head. The noodle wrapped itself around my face and I watched as the scroll flew away. I saw Tai Lung run past me and jump. I grabbed his feet and pulled him into a wheelbarrow, using it as a catapult to launch me high into the air after the scroll. I slurped up the noodles.

_Needs salt. _I thought. Then, I landed headfirst into a cluster of bamboo stalks. I landed on two of them and they broke off. I walked around on them like stilts, trying to regain my balance. When I regained my balance, I saw Tai Lung land on all fours, right in front of the scroll. Thinking fast, I noticed a bunch of woks I had knocked over, and I smiled.

I remembered what Shifu had done to me.

Using one pole, I launched a wok and it hit Tai Lung straight in the face. While he was blinded, I tossed some more woks out, hiding the scroll under one. I leaped forward. Tai Lung got the wok off his face and stared. I quickly shuffled the woks around, and Tai Lung stared at them hopelessly.

"Lightning!" I taunted. I guess I shouldn't have taunted the snow leopard, because Tai Lung kicked the woks away with one sweep of his leg. The scroll was right between the bamboo poles. I used the poles to bend Tai Lung's body and swipe away his paws. I moved the poles quickly, but Tai Lung folded his hands and shot them between the poles, pushing them far away. That only made me lose my footing. The poles dropped, and I fell right on top of Tai Lung as the scroll was in his hands. The scroll bounced and rolled away. Tai Lung kicked me off of him and ran off. I landed in a cart of fireworks.

That's what gave me a crazy idea.

I strapped a bunch of rockets to the cart and lighted them. I held on tight as the cart blasted forward. I knocked Tai Lung out of the way and grabbed the Dragon Scroll. I laughed, but then the cart got caught between a building and the bridge that went over the river, and I shot forward like an arrow in flight. I landed face first into a tall building and the scroll flew out of my hand. I got up and noticed Tai Lung regaining his footing and charging at me. I looked up and saw the Dragon Scroll high up in the air.

Then, I thought about Monkey's almond cookies, and how I managed to get ten feet off the ground.

Ten feet against a hundred, what's the difference?

So I imagined the Dragon Scroll was one of Monkey's cookies.

Sure enough, that got me motivated. I actually felt myself using kung fu moves to get up there. But I heard Tai Lung yelling behind me, "No!" and I felt a shock wave from his powerful kick to the building. The scroll was knocked into the air and I looked down to see the building crumbling and Tai Lung advancing towards me. I scrambled up the building, shooting out some tiles as I did. The building collapsed, but luck was on my side. I used three pieces of broken building and managed to grab the Dragon Scroll. I heard a rush of wind behind me, and I turned to see Tai Lung jump high into the air. He landed a powerful drop kick to my head, and I landed hard on the ground, cracking some of the road around me. I heard Tai Lung yelling above me, but I could hardly move to see what was happening before I felt his fists collide with my body, shoving me a foot into the ground and upsetting a lot of dust. The Dragon Scroll slipped out of my hands once more.

When the dust cleared, Tai Lung and I were in a large crater as wide as the street and about a foot or so into the ground. I was covered with dirt, and I was in a lot of pain. I breathed hard, desperately trying to reach for the scroll. But Tai Lung picked it up, so I collapsed, breathing deeply.

"Finally." I heard Tai Lung say. "Oh yes." He chuckled with triumph. "The power of the Dragon Scroll is…" I heard the sound of the scroll being opened. "…..mine!" I heard him breathe deeply, and I realized he had finally discovered the secret.

"It's nothing!" he cried. I groaned and stood up.

"It's ok." I said. "I didn't get it the first time either." I coughed.

"What?" Tai Lung asked in a bit of a squeaky voice.

I stood up straight. "There is no secret ingredient." Tai Lung stared at me, then glared and tossed the scroll to the ground. "It's just you." I said. I smiled at my reflection. I half expected Tai Lung to finally get it.

Instead, he growled and lunged, landing a nerve attack on me.

I fell to the ground, expecting pain.

But it tickled, and I laughed.

Tai Lung tried again and again, but I kept laughing with all the tickling.

"Hee!" I laughed. "Stop it! I'm gonna pee! Don't….don't!" I laughed and stood up. Tai Lung launched a punch with both of his fists and I swayed backwards. Then, I came back again and hit Tai Lung with twice the force, sending the snow leopard sailing thru the air and into an archway. I smiled, suddenly feeling refreshed with newfound energy. Tai Lung came charging at me again. I blocked his hits and even stepped on his foot. Tai Lung jumped back, and I attacked. Tai Lung tried to land a kick to my head, but I grabbed his foot and launched him over my head and to the ground. I fell back on top of him, grabbed his tail, and flipped onto my feet, pulling him up into the air. I head butted him and used his tail to block his hits. Then he came at me with his teeth, so I held up his tail again.

Tai Lung bit his tail. With a kitten-like meow, he jumped back in pain, and I used my butt to hit him away, letting go of his tail. I watched as Tai Lung bounced and rolled (quite painfully, I might add) into a house. I flinched.

"Ooh." I groaned. _That's gotta hurt. _Tai Lung got out of the house, though, and started sprinting at me on all fours. I stood with my legs spread evenly and my butt tucked, and I used my gut to ricochet Tai Lung high into the sky, thru the clouds. I smiled, staring up at where he had gone. But when he didn't come back down, I started looking around.

_What the hey? _Then, I saw him again, falling rapidly towards the ground. I took a few steps back and he landed hard on the ground, creating a small geyser of dust and dirt in my face. I flinched and turned away. When I looked back, it seemed like Tai Lung had landed either on his stomach or on his back, because all I saw was a deep hole in the exact shape of his body.

"You…." I heard him say. I stepped back a little, surprised he was even close to being alive. "…can't defeat me." Tai Lung climbed out of the hole, his fur a mess and covered in dirt. "You….you're just a big….fat…." I gave him a look that said, "You're dead."

"…panda!" Tai Lung lunged to deliver a punched, but I caught his finger in my hand.

"I'm not a big fat panda." I said. "I'm _the _big fat panda." I smirked with triumph as I raised my pinky.

Tai Lung gasped a little. "The Wuxi Finger Hold?" he whimpered.

"Oh you know this hold?" I said, quoting Shifu's line the day we first met.

"You're bluffing." Tai Lung said. "You're bluffing! Shifu didn't teach you that."

"Nope." I said. Tai Lung smiled hopefully.

"I figured it out." I said. Tai Lung stared at my hand.

"Skadoosh." I said.

Tai Lung winced.

And there was an explosion of golden dust.

A/N: I'm sorry. One more chapter.


	8. The Master's Pride

_I found out that I repeated a chapter. Sorry. _

Chapter Eight- The Master's Pride

The next few minutes were a blur.

I remember a golden glow in my eyes and seeing some sort of cat disappear, and a wok and apron were thrown at me.

I traveled thru the dust, hoping to find a way out. Then, I heard the voices of the villagers, and I knew they must've seen the blast. I emerged out of the dust and saw everyone staring at me. I coughed from the dust and pulled the apron out from around my neck. I waited for the villagers to respond.

They cheered.

I smiled. Some pigs tried to lift me up, but I was still too heavy, so they just gave up and continued cheering. I heard my dad in the crowd.

"That's my boy!" he cried. "That big lovely kung fu warrior is my son!" I saw him and smiled, then ran over and hugged him. The crowd went, "Awww."

"Thanks, Dad." I said. The wok fell off my head, and I heard it come to an abrupt stop. I looked up as the crowd calmed and saw the Furious Five in front of me.

"Hey guys." I said sheepishly. Tigress took a few steps towards me. I expected her to say something sarcastic, or tell me I won by luck alone. But I had done what I was destined to do, so I was ready. I braced myself.

Tigress put her fist to her palm. "Master." She said. She bowed. The rest of the Five and the villagers bowed and repeated, "Master."

I smiled. I actually did it. What do ya know? Who knew I could do it? I chuckled a little.

"Master?" I said.

Then, it felt like another hammer hit me, only this time in the gut.

My eyes widened and I gasped.

"Master Shifu!" I cried.

I turned from the Five and ran thru the crowd towards the stairs. I can't believe I forgot about him! A voice in the back of my mind said, _Be prepared. He's most likely dead. _But I kept going. But, of course, I got tired after running up ten steps. But I kept going the same way I kept going when I went to face Tai Lung. By the time I got to the Sacred Hall of Warriors, I was dead tired. But after seeing the large crater in the steps I hadn't noticed before, I had a sudden burst of energy. But that energy came from fear clutching my heart. I ran into the hall and stopped dead in my tracks halfway down.

Shifu was in the exact same spot when I saw him last.

And he was hardly moving.

"Master!" I cried. I rushed to his side and shook him a little. "Shifu! Shifu, are you ok?" I rolled him onto his back and held his head in my hand. Words cannot describe how happy I was when I saw his eyes open. Shifu looked up at me thru half-open eyes and smiled.

"Po." He whispered. "You're alive." Then he frowned. "Or we're both dead."

"No, Master, I didn't die." I said. "I defeated Tai Lung." Shifu stared at me with disbelief.

"You did?" he asked. I smiled and nodded, almost acting like it was no big deal. But he didn't know the pain I went thru. Now I know what it's like to be a kung fu warrior.

Shifu sighed. "Wow." He said. "It is as Oogway….foretold. You _are_…..the Dragon Warrior." My smile faded, and I stared at him worriedly. He was weak, I could tell.

But he can't be so weak he'll die, can he?

"You have brought peace….." he told me. "….to this valley…..and…..and to me. Thank you." He sighed again. "Thank you….Po…thank you…..thank you…" Shifu's eyes closed, and his head went limp as his rested in my palm.

I stared at him, horrified. I gently set his head down.

"No." I said. He can't be dead. He can't be! "Master! No, no, no!" My eyes welled up with tears. "Don't die, Shifu, please!" I would've started bawling then if Shifu hadn't shot open his eyes and yelled at me.

"I'm not dying you idiot!" he yelled. Then, he relaxed. "Ah….Dragon Warrior." He sighed and laid down with his hands folded over his chest. "I am simply at peace….finally."

I felt like a real idiot then. "Oh! So….um….I should….stop talking?"

"If you can." Shifu said, smiling. I lay down on my back next to him, trying to relax. But it got a bit boring. I turned to Shifu to say something, but I decided not to disturb him. I tried again, but thought otherwise.

Finally, I took my chances.

"You wanna get something to eat?" I asked.

Shifu opened his eyes and sighed.

"yeah." He said.

I smiled.

*****

"And _that _is how I became the Dragon Warrior and beat Tai Lung." I finished. My bunny students clapped.

"Did you go on any adventures after that?" one asked.

"Oh yeah." I said. "Totally. I remember this one time, Shifu, Mantis, and I had to go deal with some crocodile bandits terrorizing a tribe of turtles. Mantis and Shifu got knocked out, so I bravely fought the crocs alone!" I did some kung fu poses. "They were no match for me!"

"That's not how I remember it."

I flinched and turned to Master Shifu, who apparently was in a tree behind me. He did a flip and landed softly next to me.

"Last I remembered, Mantis defeated nine of them, I defeated ten, and you were being chased by one, screaming like a little girl." Shifu said. My students laughed, and I groaned.

"Master, remember what I said about mocking me in front of my students?" I said. "I don't do that to you."

"Because I tell the truth." Shifu said, limping off. "Continue." I turned to my students.

"Ok, so _maybe _I was a little scared." I admitted.

"A little?" Mantis cried from the tree. He jumped down. "You almost wet your pants!"

"Alright!" I yelled. "Who else is up there?" Only Monkey jumped down, and I sighed.

"Alright, just get into pairs and spar." I told my students. The bunnies obeyed, and Monkey, Mantis and I watched. I stole a glance at Shifu, who was smiling at me. I knew that he was proud of me. We had become good friends, and Shifu was starting to warm up to me and the Five.

All because of a panda who became one of the greatest warriors in China.

A/N: The end! Yes! I own nothing except the scenes not mentioned in the movie! Read and Review!


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